LinkedIn’s co-founder, Reid Hoffman, began the website in 2002. Since then, it has grown to a membership of over 120 million people worldwide and has become one of the top corporate hiring solutions. You can search for new talent in this market of professionals when you create an account for your company. LinkedIn offers free basic membership for every member, but companies obtain greater access with business accounts.

1. Visit the LinkedIn website and enter your information into the box labeled “Join LinkedIn Today” on the home page. The required information includes your first name, last name, email address and password. Click the “Join Now” button to proceed.

2. Enter your country, zip, company and title in the appropriate fields on the following page. Click the “Create my profile” button. Follow the instructions to confirm your email address.

3. Log in to your LinkedIn account. Click the “Companies” tab at the top of the page. Click the “Add a Company” link close to the top of the page on the right-hand side.

4. Enter the name of your company in the “Company name” field and your work email address in the email field. According to LinkedIn, your company must have a distinct email domain, such as yourcompanyname.com, and an official email address, such as you@yourcompanyname.com. In addition, you must be a current company employee with your position listed on your profile, and the work email address you are using must be one of the confirmed email addresses on your profile.

5. Click the “Continue” button to proceed. Enter your company information on the following page.

6. Upgrade your account for more access to LinkedIn features, such as the ability to view more profiles and contact more candidates. Return to your home page, highlight the “More” tab and click “Upgrade Your Account.” You can upgrade to a Business, Business Plus or an Executive account. Click “Upgrade” under your choice to proceed to the next page. Enter your payment information and pay for the service with a credit card.

About the Author

Tina Amo has been writing business-related content since 2006. Her articles appear on various well-known websites. Amo holds a Bachelor of Science in business administration with a concentration in information systems.